President Barack Obama is sending a strong signal to the West that Africa does matter, in the changing global environment, both business and cultural. Africa must be brought out of the shadows of world politics as the first black president of America makes his presence felt on the Africa continent.
Many watched as the president met with the new leader of Nigeria, President Buhari, on July 20 at the White House. Obama watchers tried to figure out why did Buhari come to Washington to meet with the president when Obama would be flying to Africa a few days later and passing almost over Nigeria en route to Kenya.
He could have made a historical trip to Abuja and, in the face of the Boko Haram threat, his presence would have made a statement that intimidation would not stop the country in Africa with the largest economy and the largest population from continuously moving forward.
There was continuous talk before Obama left America about security concerns, but there are always security concerns when the president of the United States visits a foreign country, whether he is going to a G8 Summit in Europe or visiting an APEC forum in the Far East.
This may be why his security advisor had him make what can be seen as a political mistake and that is arriving in Kenya at night. He denied the citizens of his father’s homeland from turning out the kind of traditional welcome that historically Africa does for visiting heads of state. To arrive at night denied the thousands of Kenyans who would have converged on Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to welcome a son of Africa who had reached the highest political position in the world.
The discussions that Obama had in the 59-minute news conference with President Uhuru Kenyatta were eye-opening. The Western press wanted to make the press conference all about the rights of the LGBT movement, yet Kenyatta deflected the talk of the gay rights movement and tried to make it clear that this is not a major issue in Kenya.
I disagree with Obama in comparing the rights of the descendants of slaves in America with the movement for gay and lesbian rights. It is unfair to our struggle, because they were never slaves, robbed of their name, language and culture. They were not brought from their homeland in the holes of slave ships.
Further, because Western society would like to make sure gays have full rights, this position should not be forced on other societies who should be allowed to deal with the matter according to their history and their culture. Western governments that push their ideas on other societies can be accused of cultural imperialism. Obama must be careful not to suggest that if we accept our way we will give them more aid, and if you go against what we determine that your society should do, then we will withdraw or withhold aid.
The negotiations with Cuba and Iran have shown the world that Obama wants to go a different way, and we certainly hope that he exhibits that with Africa. I would hope that if President Robert Mugabe (current Chairperson of the African Union) is not invited or disinvited to the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia that Obama would show the same spirit that he has shown with Cuba or Iran and change the mentality of the Western world away from isolating world leaders if they don’t capitulate to the Western way of thinking.
Akbar Muhammad is international representative of the Nation of Islam.
